


Made of Blood

by sunflushed



Category: Kinemortophobia - Fandom
Genre: Angst, BoyxBoy, Crawler, Death, Gay., M/M, Runner, Traveling, Walkers, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, gay? gay, i feel so dead inside my god, man bun supremacy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 10:13:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27968867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflushed/pseuds/sunflushed
Summary: Zombie apocalypse's aren't supposed to be fun, they aren't, especially not for Harvey. The current day is October 15th, 2020, the apocalypse started about a year and a half ago. For now it's been neutral, they've been surviving, but resources are running low and it's time to move soon. Though before they leave a few scavengers end up joining the group, for better or for worse?
Relationships: Ash Whelan/Atticus Drozdov, Harvey Duran/Sebastian T. Alistor





	Made of Blood

_October 15th, 2020._  
_7:35am._

_Yesterday was weird, there was a group of crawlers and walkers combined that trailed past the fence. I was on patrol while it happened, though the patrol was cut short because of it, and we were instead stationed to guard the lodges by Quill. She’s always been a bit harsh and bossy, but I think she has good intentions in mind, even if it doesn’t always come out right. Though recently we’ve found tra-_

He was suddenly interrupted from his writing by a few loud coughs. Harvey’s attention shifted to the side, a low hum leaving him when he spotted the coughing girl. They had met after she joined the group, seemed nice enough, not hard to approach or anything either. From what he could recall her name was a little too long for him to remember, they had all settled on calling her Archie. She was shorter than him, but still held her own. Even he had to admit she had a good amount of muscle, probably from personal training, and overall, even to him despite his lack of attraction to women, had to admit she was attractive. With short, wavy black hair and two blue heterochromatic eyes, one pale blue and the other a turquoise like color, she just gave off the vibe of a badass to him. His eyes flickered back to his journal after his observations, he sighed, his motivation to put in a daily log had dropped and so instead he looked at the sky. It was early out, bright as hell thankfully. To no one in particular he spoke, “Wonder if we’ll be dragged to do anything today.” His voice was neutral, not harsh, not soft. 

Harvey turned his head again when Archie surprisingly answered him, “Probably a scouting mission, we’re running low on items again right?” He noted that she seemed genuinely interested in conversation for now, even though she usually had heavy eyes indicating her lack of sleep and focus.

“Oh, uh, yeah we’re running low on food and medicine last time I checked.” He answered with a slim amount of hesitation. It was weird talking to people casually like this, though he somehow always seemed to manage to do so. The medicine was kept in the main lodge, a place where only the medic, Quinton, and ‘leaders’, Quill and Charise, could go supposedly. Everyone typically called each other by last names, it was odd, it felt unusual, like they were items and not people. He watched her nod before the sound of a door opening caught both of their attention. Quill walked into the room, clearing her throat. The door slammed shut behind the group leader, a small click following the slam. He glanced from the entrance to Quill, also known as Sam, who was looking around the second lodge. She looked focused, from what he could see at least, with the crease between her brows and how she was looking between them all.

Before he could say anything, or go back to his journal, Sam spoke. “We’re going on a scouting mission, we’re running low on food, water, and medicine. I’m taking Charlie, Duran, and Archie.”

Harvey stared at the group leader for a moment, he was confused on why she only called him by his last name, before figuring it didn’t matter much. After a moment he snickered, shooting Archie a look that simply read, ‘called it’. She rolled her eyes before standing up, and they both watched silently as Charlie shot up from where she was sleeping. He wondered how a person could sleep that easily, he’d never been able to do so during both his childhood and to the present day.

Snapping out of his short-lived memory Harvey hummed, beginning to walk with the rest of the group. The door clicked shut behind him, having been the last to leave the second lodge. They descended the stairs, a rush of wind flying past them. He chuckled softly to himself, happy to have his hair up in a man bun instead of down like the other three did. The wind had ruffled their hair, slinging it to their side, even getting some of it in Sam’s face, though he refrained from laughing. It didn’t take long to walk through the camp area in front of the lodge, a slightly debris covered fire pit he made in the center. He could hear some of the horses shifting around in the stables, most silent. Harvey smiled to himself, he was excited to see Bugs.

Bugs was a gray dappled horse, one of the only gray dappled’s they have. He knew Bugs’ personality pretty well, he was lazy enough to expend less energy going upslope by trotting rather than just walking. Harvey also knew that Bugs was a good follower, tending to the reigns rather easily and rarely meandering or dipping his head to eat grass.

They got closer to the stables, and his eyes locked onto Bugs, who’s head had peered out of his stall at them. His smile morphed into a grin, walking a little faster and ahead of the group now. He came to a stop right in front of Bugs stall, patting the horse on the nose, smiling before walking off again. Harvey made his way over to the saddles hung up on the wall, pulling his off before, once again, walking back over to Bugs. He opened the stall, undoing the lock before walking inside. It wasn’t easy of course, but he got it done, shifting the saddle on Bugs to make sure it wasn’t loose. Once satisfied with the result he grabbed Bugs lead, opening the stall door again and walking the horse outside. Finally outside now he veered to the side, grabbing a mounting block before slipping his foot into the stirrup. His dominant foot, the left one, remained in the stirrup while he swung his body over, sliding his right foot into the other stirrup. His right hand reached for one of the pouches on the saddle, fishing it open and grabbing the compass inside of the pouch. He fidgeted with the clip before hooking it onto a small loop by the sack, letting it go so it thudded against the leather of the saddle. Harvey grinned, grabbing the knot on the reign with one hand before glancing behind him.

The others were almost done with their setups, Quill being an exception and already waiting for them. He gripped the reign, pulling it to the right in order to turn Bugs before lightly kicking him. The horse began to walk over, falling into place beside Sam’s horse, ‘Lil Joe’. Harvey didn’t question the name for the horse, simply keeping his confusion and judgement to himself.

His gaze swept across the area, from the muddy and bloody, horse tracked path, to the trees lining the area both outside and inside the fence. The camp and stables were more organized than the campgrounds, which had splintered branches, twigs, sharp stones, and rocks littering the area besides the paths.

Finally Archie and Charlie fell in line, and without a word Quill kicked her horse’s side. Harvey pulled Bugs into place behind Sam’s horse, all of them falling into order. Behind him he could hear the horse’s hooves hitting the muddy ground, creating a sort of ‘clomp’ sound.

He glanced behind him to see how far behind Archie and Charlie were, seeing that they were far enough apart, from each other and him, that their horses wouldn’t hit each other. Harvey sighed in relief, they didn’t need another bucking accident because someone refused to slow their horse down and kept annoying the one ahead of them, or because it spooked the animal.

The campgrounds were coming into sight, the sign to the camp itself barely readable. Though having passed it so many times Harvey recognized the sign to ‘Camp Half Moon Lake’. He huffed when the horses walked past the signs, it didn’t feel faster than walking, but it certainly was. His attention shifted from the overhead sign to the area ahead. It was clear, still slightly muddy and trailed all over with horse tracks. He huffed, glancing around at the three other paths. 

In the distance he could hear barking, catching his attention and looking in that direction. It was about north-west, closer to the lodge then the scavenging point he assumed they were going to. He was only able to tell the direction from a compass hanging on the side of his saddle. Wind rushed by, carrying the burning smell of rotten flesh, even if it was faint it still made his nose sting and eyes water slightly. 

Quill had pulled her horse to a stop in the middle of the campground, looking off in the direction of the barking. He watched her angle the horse and herself to face that direction, using his freehand to rub the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes. Harvey just knew she was gonna rush off with one of them and investigate the noise, though he mildly disagreed with the decision, finding it potentially dangerous.

It wasn’t a surprise to Harvey when she spoke up, “We’ll split off here, Charlie you’re coming with me to investigate the barking.” Sam ordered, gesturing to the typically happy or social tall girl, who nodded with a grin. He opened his eyes after hearing the start of the two horses moving, squinting at Quill and Charlie’s disappearing figures as the horse galloped off. Harvey groaned exasperatedly, huffing after a moment before turning to look over his shoulder at Archie.

“So looks like it’s just us two for now.” He spoke, frustration edging some of his tone. Archie seemed to merely nod, “Yeah, uh, any idea on where to head?” She inquired, glancing around the area.

Harvey turned back around while grabbing his compass, checking the directions. “We’re heading south-west, there’s a cabin and trailer that we can search, might even be a clinic nearby we haven’t seen yet.” He dropped the compass, hearing it softly smack against the pouch before sliding down the saddle into its resting place. His gaze returned to Archie, “That sound fine?”

He could see her gaze shift to the path Quill and Charlie had gone down originally before looking back over at him, though he assumed she was just checking for any other noises or potential crawlers and walkers. She seemed to think for a moment before speaking, “Yeah, the faster we are with this, the better.”  
Harvey chortled softly before turning back around, kicking Bugs lightly in the side while angling the horse to the path on his left. “So what’d you do before the apocalypse?” He kept his eyes on the road while addressing her, though the sound of other horse hooves hitting the ground indicated she was closer to being side by side with Bugs, or close behind.

“I was a cop.” He hummed at her response, nodding softly, “Did you like being a cop?” That seemed to bring a pause to the conversation he had started.

“Somewhat, there were a few motherfuckers I wanted to put behind bars.” Her voice came out more thoughtful than before, but still focused. He glanced over his shoulder and back at her for a moment, studying her expression before quickly looking forward again.

“That sense of justice right? A moral calling in a way?” He questioned, Harvey understood the feeling, to an extent. 

“Yeah, though spite and revenge pushed me in a way.” Came her response, not taking as long of a pause to respond again.

Harvey nodded, humming thoughtfully. “I couldn’t ever do that, I was just an early graduate electrical and mechanical engineer.” A low chuckle left him, it was such a weirdly normal conversation to have in the apocalypse like this, though he wasn’t gonna complain. It felt nice to just talk about things you would outside of a life or death situation. He fell into silence for a moment, glancing to his hands. A few scars littered across his fingers, they were small burn scars spread across the skin of them. The scars were slightly rough, the pigmentation of the skin was really the only other difference. His slight tan was different to the darker hue of the scars, which had become so old that they’d faded enough that you had to grab his hand and look at them to see they were scars and not just tan lines.

“Morality’s weird, that sense of justice people have. Probably why some people die in the apocalypse so fast, wanting to play the hero.” He commented, while Harvey was willing to fight for other people’s lives he wasn’t gonna shove himself in as a self-sacrifice for someone he didn’t know. Though he didn’t consider that cruel or selfish, he simply acknowledged he’d only do it for those he deeply loved and cared for. “People are just animals, y’know? We function like them in fear, freeze, flight, or fight.” Harvey continued, “We’ll never be pure people, as we’ve all done fucked up things, especially now.”

He could feel Archie staring at him, her stare burning into the back of his skull before it abruptly disappeared. “Yeah, it is weird. Though all people are different.” She commented after his small rant.

Harvey nodded in agreement, though he didn’t change to vocalize his thoughts anymore. He held his opinions on humans, himself included, to a certain state. Of course his opinions have wavered before, who’s hasn’t? His mind wandered with thoughts while they had settled into a comfortable silence, the cabin and trailer pulling into view. It was about a ten minute travel on the horses to get here, a small two-bedroom cabin with a broken down, barely together, wooden fence and a rusting trailer beside it.

The rust on the trailer looked like it could stab him and give him tetanus, deciding that was a bad idea to explore first while they pulled the horses to a stop. He stared at the trailer for a moment, eyes wandering over the overgrowth that seemed to spread into whatever cracks or holes it could find. He winced, wondering silently what was in that trailer that could possibly give plants of any kind nutrients in there.

Another breeze of wind came back, softer than the last time, but still carrying the stinging, wretched smell of rotten flesh and mud. It was a disgusting combination that burned his nose again, wiping at his eyes with one of his long sleeves. He sniffled before huffing, shaking his head. Harvey had to snap himself out of his thoughts, pushing off his dominant foot and over the saddle. His foot hit the ground and he slipped his left foot out of the stirrup, glancing at the cabin once more before grabbing Bugs lead. He led the horse over to the still-up fence, tying the lead around one of the posts in it.

It took him a minute to finish the knot and step back, taking out his pistol from the holster. He had brought his Century Arms rifle with him, figuring it’d be better to conserve the ammo on it, instead he had stuffed an arm extension blade into his backpack. After taking his extension blade out and clipping it to his arm he glanced over at Archie, seeing her pull out her own pistol and get ready to walk towards the cabin door.

Quickly he strapped the blade in, knowing that if he simply used the momentum in his arm the blade would come out. He clicked the safety off of the pistol, walking up to the door aiming the gun at it. Archie came up behind him, readying her own weapon while he put both hands on the handle of the gun. His finger rested on the outside of the ring that held the trigger, exhaling slowly. 

From behind him he heard a quiet _‘your mark’_ , which led him to slowly put a hand on the door knob, pushing it the door open while pointing the gun into the room. It seemed clear, and he waited a moment before walking into the cabin. Harvey kept his guard up, waiting to see or hear any movement. Besides his own heartbeat pounding dully in his ears, and his breathing nothing moved, no skittering sounds, no strangled gurgling or groaning, nothing. Finally he put the gun down, keeping it in his left hand while looking over at Archie. She had also put her gun down, or the sights on it at least. 

Harvey shifted before glancing to his left, where the open kitchen and living room area were. “I’ll check here, check the first door on the left up there.” He pointed with his right hand to the wall against the counters, where the hallway close to the front door led. “If, that’s alright I mean.” 

Archie shot him an amused glance, “Yeah it's fine, I can handle myself if there's an animal or something.”

He rolled his eyes before clearing his throat awkwardly, “Right.” Harvey finally slipped his pistol into the holster, walking over to the kitchen and crouching in front of the lower cabinets, beginning to open them in search for any left canned food or water. So far his own search had been futile, nothing except broken or damaged kitchen supplies. His attention shifted to the fridge, pausing for a moment. Was there a chance it could still work? It was unlikely but, worth a try at least right?

The fridge leaked with cool air, slowly blowing onto Harvey while it attempted to keep the remains inside cool. Harvey searched between everything in the fridge, finding unopened beers can, water bottles, and even cold canned food. This was like a supply chest and a half to him, and it would probably feel like that to Archie as well. 

Speaking of her, she appeared around the corner, walking over to the kitchen. “So did you find anyth-” She stopped mid-sentence seeing the fridge working, pausing to wonder if she was hallucinating at the sight of the fridge running.  
Harvey glanced back at her with a grin, “There’s water, canned foods, and beer in here!” His voice said it all with how excited he was there was a working fridge and still cooled contents inside. To think he hadn’t even checked the pantry yet.

Archie seemed to smile as well, from what Harvey could see anyways, before shifting the grip on her pistol. “Alright, I’m gonna go check the third room, the second room was a bust.” She turned around, walking off and down the hallway.

He only gave her a quick thumbs up before piling the food, beverages, and water outside of the fridge, standing up and walking over to the pantry. His hands gripped the knobs a little too tightly, almost snapping them off entirely. Inside the pantry was a few more canned foods, enough to last the group a week or two depending on how they rationed it. Down the hallway Harvey could hear the door being pushed open, followed by a gasp. He quickly shot to his feet, taking out his pistol and moving down the hallway, pausing when he saw that Archie didn’t look panicked in the slightest.

“You had me worried there was a walker in here or somethin’.” Harvey grumbled, slipping his pistol back into its holster.

She shrugged, “Didn’t expect there to be a crawler, it’s not worth a bullet though. You can kill it if you want, I don’t want zombie stench on me.”

He snickered before shrugging, “Better to kill it than leave it alive.” Harvey swung his arm slightly, the blade from his extension folding outward. His steps echoed slightly, alerting the crawler. It made a strangled gurgling noise, legs shriveled behind it. The crawler’s head was half caved in, rotten flesh dripping into the open area and exposing a portion of the brainstem that kept the zombies alive. Their group had always found it more beneficial to slice the head off than to simply shoot them, and that is exactly what he was planning to do. The combined smell of rotten flesh, dried blood, and overall decomposition burned his nose worse than before, leaving a much more intense sting to it. He felt like he wanted to vomit with how close he was, watching it’s thumb-less hands scramble on the wooden floorboards. Blood dropped from it’s head, uncharacteristically to humans a black color. Harvey inhaled slowly before doing a full downward sweep with his arm, slicing the head off right where the spine would be located. 

It dropped, the body falling almost instantly from the second death, head rolling on the floor. He watched it for a moment before looking at the blood now on his sword, some having sprayed off the zombie and onto one of his boots. Harvey covered his mouth with his left hand, repressing the urge to vomit while he turned and walked out of the room. His feet carried him right to the front door, pushing it open and taking a breather outside. It was better than being inside and by the crawler, even if the air still wasn’t the best. He put his hands on his knees and took several long, slow breaths, exhaling shakily before standing back up.

Harvey turned back to the door, walking back inside, zoning in just in time to hear, “Catch!” Two cans of food were tossed to him, and with quick reflexes he caught one, not so much the other. The can of beans hit him square on the foot, leaving a minor sting to his foot afterwards. He stared at the can before looking over to Archie. “I thought I told you I was an engineer not a juggler.” 

Archie was already laughing at how he looked, though he simply rolled his eyes, picking up the slightly dented can of beans. He snickered quietly while walking to the pile by the fridge, taking his backpack off and placing it down, beginning to stuff the bottles of water and food into the backpack. Harvey paused at the alcohol, humming lightly in thought, “Should we take this with us?”

He watched her glance his way at the alcohol, seeming to also take it into thought before nodding. “Yeah, neither of us are on watch duty tonight after all.” Harvey nodded at her reasoning, “Fair point, poor Charlie got dragged out on this scavenging stuff when it’s her watch night.” A low chuckle of sympathy left him, packing the alcohol under the water bottles and food, shuffling so that they were nestled in at the bottom.

Harvey couldn’t see her nod, but he could hear her hum of agreement. “It should be an easy ride back, the sun's not set and if there isn’t anything blocking the path then we’ll be back in the same twenty minutes it took to get here from the stables.” He stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulders. Archie stood up after him, slinging her own bag on before stumbling from the weight, the clear expression of surprise forming on her face. He almost laughed at her, keyword almost, figuring that if he did he’d either get elbowed in the side or tasted. Still while he turned around and walked to the door a few low chuckles left him.

They were fast with untying the horses, Harvey using the fence as a make-shift mounting block to get on Bugs saddle, grabbing the reign and angling the horse back onto the path. He waited a minute for Archie to get her horse moving before kicking Bugs’ side. The horse began walking before picking up into a trot, Paint, the horse, following close behind him. Wind rushed past them, but this time it carried a different smell, it wasn’t as bad as before in terms of rotting flesh, though mud certainly overwhelmed it this time.

With the horses galloping along the muddy path he took time to survey the area, pausing when he saw two figures sitting in front of the lake. He glanced over to Archie, who he quickly noticed also saw the figures. “Lets go check it out!” Harvey called, though not too loudly. The reign shifted in his hold, turning so that Bugs now veered off the right and onto another path leading to the lake. He continued to let the horse trot, making sure that Archie was still behind him every now and then. This area was entirely fenced off, making it better for them, but even if it was fenced off that didn’t mean that some zombies could get over. He kept his guard up for any runners or crawlers that managed to get over or through the fence, his freehand resting on the holster to his pistol.

They drew close to the figures quickly, Harvey pulling his pistol out and pointing it at the figures as the horses drew to a stop. He was the first to speak, “So what in god's tarnation are you motherfuckers doin out here?”

Archie seemed amused at the question before clearing her throat to cover her laughter, shooting Harvey a glance that simply read ‘you sound like a fucking idiot’, though he didn’t care. The two figures turned, revealing themselves to be one big, bulky guy, and one tiny mid-sized girl.

To Harvey they looked harmless enough, not even having their weapons out, but he kept his gun up nonetheless while the guy spoke, “We were just wandering, saw the lodge and wondered if anyone was in there.” His voice was deep, like a tuba but a person, raspy. It was a big difference compared to his own lighter, slightly southern voice. 

Bugs seemed to meander slightly while they spoke, taking a step forward before Harvey pulled on the reigns, getting the horse to stop moving. His compass shifted against the saddle while he spoke up again, “Well you’ve found some of the people, what’s your plan now?”

The big guy glanced at the girl, who was shifting nervously behind him. He looked like he’d be the one doing the talking, or that’s what Harvey observed. 

Before the guy could speak, Archie beat him to it. “We could take them back with us if that’s their plan.” She suggested, glancing to Harvey before holstering her own weapon. “They seem harmless, they don’t even have weapons drawn.”

Harvey stared at them before grumbling, holstering his pistol while the guy spoke up. “I was about to ask that, it’d be better than being just us two alone.” 

He squinted at the people, checking them over for any obvious wounds, which it didn’t look like they had any. While he observed them it gave him a chance to really assess what they looked like. The tall guy looked bigger than him, in terms of muscle mass and height. He assumed the dude stood taller than six foot three, and his black hair definitely didn’t give him any of the height. Harvey could tell the girl beside him was definitely shorter than Archie, who he assumed was around five foot four or seven. She had longer, dark hair, though he couldn’t tell if it was black or dark brown in the slightly dimming light. They had to hurry if they wanted to make it back safely.

“Tie them up by the hands, they’ll walk beside the horses while we go back then.” His voice came out quick, more of an order than an offer. He glanced over at Archie, seeing her roll her eyes with a chuckle before she got off Paint’s saddle. 

“Are you both okay with being tied by the hands?” She questioned, obviously wanting consent first. Harvey shifted in the saddle, glancing up at the sky. Colors bloomed across the darkening sky, clouds drifting slowly by. The sun was gonna be fully set soon, within the next hour he assumed.

After a few minutes he glanced back at the three, seeing that they both had their hands tied and Archie was mounting Paint again. He turned Bugs, who’d meandered slightly to the side, back onto the path, taking one last look at the three before kicking him in the side, setting the horse off into a slow walk. Bugs immediately fell ahead, hearing the two strangers fall into line close behind the horse and Paint soon following behind the two people, at an even slower pace. Though they didn’t walk directly behind the horses, as that would be a terrible idea, instead they walked slightly to the side, still within Harvey’s peripheral vision.

It was a silent ride, filled with footsteps, the hooves making contact with mud, and the wind rushing through the trees nearby. Harvey kept his attention on the path and area, guard up for extra precaution. His brows were furrowed, eyes steeled with focus. He kept a tight grip on the reign, only slightly paranoid of the area around them. The barking had stopped minutes before then, though in the faint distance he could hear a few gunshots. It was closer to the mountain than the lodge, though he didn’t know which mountain. Being in Wyoming was a string of luck, finding the group and area they were in now, coming all the way from Texas to the northern state.

A low huff left Harvey while the stables came into view, the sky had darkened further than before, having taken them maybe half an hour to reach the lodge itself. He pulled Bugs to a stop, quickly pushing off the left stirrup and hopping off the saddle and onto the ground. His attention shifted to the two strangers, who were awkwardly standing to the side. 

“Stay there while we put the horses away, we’ll take you to get checked over soon.” He instructed, keeping his voice soft, while grabbing Bugs lead and guiding the horse into the stables. Harvey worked fast to take off Bugs’ saddle, hanging it back up after putting the horse into his stall.

He jogged outside and back to the strangers, waiting patiently on Archie to finish putting Paint away. Harvey side-eyed the strangers before clearing his throat, “So what’s y’alls names?”

The guy glanced over at him, seemingly contemplating how to answer before actually speaking, “I’m Atticus, and this is Ash.” He gestured to the shorter girl with his head, seeing as he couldn’t use his hands. 

Harvey nodded, “‘m Harvey, some people here call me Duran though. Cool to meet you both out of the blue.” He slid his hands into his pockets while Archie walked up, swinging her arms.

His attention shifted, fidgeting slightly where he stood. Without a word, he turned back onto the path to the camp and lodges, walking quietly along the rugged trail. 

It was silent as they walked, seeing the figures of some of his group sitting around the entrance to the main lodge. He slid his hands out of his backpack, shifting with the straps before fidgeting with his hands. Harvey drew a small pattern in the palm of his right hand, glancing to the fence before looking back at the group.

The group at the front of the steps had finally spotted them, though he took notice to a new person being there. “Well look who finally decided to show up.” Quill spoke first, standing up and walking towards the group.

Archie raised a brow at her, “Well if we weren’t left behind and forgotten about we probably would’ve gotten back here faster.” She grumbled, though he could see her gaze drift over to the newbie.

Harvey rolled his eyes, “Plus we brought back food, water, and two strangers from the lake.” He adjusted his backpack straps after gesturing to the newbie, “looks like all yall found was a new guy as well then.” His gaze flickered to the muzzled, sitting down as well, hesitant to mention the dog before just moving on.

“Drop the food and water off in the main lodge, Quintion will check everyone over and then you can head back to the second lodge.” Charise instructed before Quill could pipe back at Archie’s comment. He watched her gesture over to Quinton, who was just standing in a corner by the door, awkwardly watching.

With a small hum and a friendly smile forming on his expression he waved to Quinton, following Archie up the steps. It was a relatively silent walk into the main lodge, with the two now sitting on different medical beds. 

“So that was an interesting situation, what’d you do to end up outside?” Harvey finally spoke after chuckling softly, shooting a glance to Archie while he slid his bag off. While Quinton was preparing his answer, he started to set the waters and canned foods to the side, humming softly while patiently waiting for the shy medic to answer. It seemed to take him longer to answer than Harvey had initially expected, though after setting the cans and bottles aside he stood up, glancing back at Quinton. The medic was staring at him with a soft blush, eyes wider than before, though he immediately assumed it was from shock.

“Woah, Quinton do you need to take a minute and sit down?” Harvey asked, brows furrowing and reaching a hand out to grab him, while studying Quinton’s flushed expression. 

The medic seemed to grow slightly more frantic, snapping out of it in the process. “No! No! I’m fine, thank you.” He cleared his throat while Harvey sighed with relief, letting his hands fall back to his side. “It was just mild shock but, uh,” Quinton paused before continuing to speak, “I was out hunting with Charise and we heard barking and some shuffling, chased after them and that led to a small stand off. Then Quill and Charlie showed up, and after a bunch of arguing they restrained the new dude and the dog.” He finished the brief explanation, shuffling where he stood.

Harvey paused while taking the information in, nodding. “Makes sense, guess the dude got hurt or something right?” He questioned, sliding his hands into his pockets.

Quinton nodded at his question, “A glass shard wound, he managed to fix it himself.” It was clear the medic was a little more hesitant to speak about this topic now. Harvey found himself walking to his bag when he zoned back in, humming softly.

“Sounds interesting, well we’ll probably head back to the second lodge. You can join us when you want to, if at all.” He invited the medic while slinging his bag onto his shoulders. Archie already had her bag back on and was walking to the door while Harvey followed after her. He gave the medic one last wave before the two made their way back to the second lodge. They passed Charise, Quill, the new guy, and then Ash and Atticus on the way. The two somewhat strangers were still restrained by the hands, following the group leaders in what seemed to be complete silence. 

He chose to let the two handle themselves, pushing the door to the second lodge open after Archie had sped ahead of him. It was still as silent as they had left it, honestly it didn’t even look inhabited by their group at all. Though Harvey wasn’t shocked at that, for some reason a select few people from their group were sent out on solo scouting missions. He had been told it was to ‘expand’ on where they could travel and loot what they need to as they go.

After a moment of hesitation, he walked over to his privacy cot in the back right corner. The curtain door was pushed aside, silently gliding back into place in the door frame while Harvey walked inside. He crouched down by a battery pack, running a thumb over the wires before opening the mini fridge. It still worked, and hot writing the battery pack had provided enough energy to run the fridge and keep drinks or food chilled inside. His bag hit the floor beside him with a small ‘thunk’, silently beginning to slide the beer into the mini fridge. Besides the beer, there was water and a piece of petrified wood he’d preserved. 

Harvey heard the door to the second lodge open and close, dragging his attention away from the mini fridge and in the direction of the door. He paused before standing up, closing the door to the fridge. The door closed quietly, and the rustling from outside towards the front deck caught his attention again, peeking his head outside of the private cot. From what he could see it was just Atticus and Ash walking into the second lodge, quietly whispering to each other while the stranger guy walked out onto the porch.

He didn’t care too much about the other stranger, not finding too much particular interest in him. Though clearly Archie thought otherwise with how she immediately started talking to him, from what he could see at least. With a soft grumble he ducked back into his cot, opening the fridge again and grabbing a few beers, carrying them by awkwardly leaning some against his chest, two in his hand. Slowly he walked out of the cot, making sure he didn’t trip over anything while heading to the lounge area of the second lodge. He glanced around before setting the alcohol onto a worn out end table. 

“Yo Archie! You want a drink?” His voice wasn’t too loud, only raised slightly while he glanced over at the two on the porch. The glance she gave him was simply one of small confusion before remembering they’d found alcohol today. 

“Oh yeah, throw one over.” She called, to which he gave her a nod. He grabbed one of the cans, shouting out a ‘catch!’ before throwing the bottle at the short girl. Harvey snickered while he watched her fumble to catch it, which she did just rather messily. The laughter was soft, making sure he wasn’t too loud before looking over at Ash and Atticus. He made a vague gesture to the alcohol while receiving a nod from Atticus. The cold that had shortly formed over the cans had transferred to his hands, leaving them slightly damp from the condensation. He handed two over to Atticus before leaning back, grabbing a can of beer for himself. Harvey hadn’t ever heard of the brand ‘Redd’, but he was always one to try anything.

The can cracked open with a soft sizzle, and he brought it unhesitant-ly to his lips, deciding the best way to do it was to chug. It burned at his throat slightly, especially in the big gulps he took to down the drink. Pain now ached in his throat, though he knew he’d be fine, but the dull sound of his own heartbeat in his ears blocked out the sound of the door opening and closing. He only realized someone had arrived when he saw awkward shuffling out of the corner of his eyes. Harvey glanced over, spotting Quinton, who was hesitantly standing by the door. Though while he waved to the nervous medic, Charise opened the door behind him, sliding past the dude. Quinton had spotted him, slowly walking over while the group leader simply glanced around.

“Hey Quinton, what brings ya down to the lodge?” Harvey questioned, offering him a friendly smile. Charise had spotted the two, and the small cluster of beers behind him, walking over and simply grabbing a can before shuffling off. Though he had simply decided to not acknowledge the group leader, only sparing her a glance before looking back at Quinton.

“Well, the main lodge was getting boring so I thought I’d come down here and hang out.” He shifted nervously, or from what Harvey could tell was nervous, glancing around the lodge again. 

“It’s good to have ya join us then Quinton, say, you ever tried alcohol?” Harvey hummed, leaning back against the wall while setting his, now empty, can to the side. He grabbed another can, a simple Bud Light, cracking it open again.

“Uh, no. Is it good?” Quinton asked while he took a sip from the drink. The lodge was relatively silent while Harvey paused to think before simply shrugging.

“Depends on the taste, to some it’s acquired over time, some don’t like it at all, and others like it naturally.” Harvey explained with a satisfied hum, “You wanna try some?” He tilted the can towards Quinton, offering him a drink. 

The medic stared at him for a moment before glancing around, Harvey wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Archie had looked over at the two of them, and while he couldn’t hear her he assumed she was making a joke since the stranger dude laughed. Quinton glanced back over at him, and all Harvey could do was offer him a reassuring, kind smile, “It’s okay to say no Orion.”

It was still silent for a moment before Quinton finally spoke up, “Fuck it.” The can was snatched from his hands, and while the relief of the cold condensation no longer sticking to his hand was there, it was briefly lived. His eyes widened when he saw Quinton tilt his head back and try to chug the beer. 

“Woah, woah there bucko-” Before Harvey could step in and stop him Quinton had already taken the can away from his mouth, hunching over slightly while coughing. He shuffled forward, pressing a hand to the medic’s back and rubbing at it comfortingly. “Yeah you probably shouldn’t have done that.”

Quinton shot him a look that read ‘you think?’, though he didn’t say anything out loud, simply standing back up with a few more coughs. “Yeah, probably not.” He grumbled, wincing slightly at the after taste and feeling. 

Harvey chuckled softly before removing his hand, sliding one into a pocket. “If you get tipsy or drunk off one can of beer I’m gonna laugh my ass off Quinton.” His chuckling turned into snickering, shooting the medic an amused glance. “At least aim for two or three drinks if you truly plan to try alcohol.” From what he could see the medic didn’t seem too uneasy, just nervous. Though from what he could remember Quinton was usually always nervous around him. 

A low huff left Orion, who had straightened his posture out, taking a smaller sip from the drink. “And I’ll try to remember not to chug it this time.” That earned the medic another set of laughs from Harvey, who’s eyes now twinkled with amusement.

“Yeah, that’s a smart idea buddy.” He smiled reassuringly before taking the empty can from Orion, setting it on the table and tipping it onto its side to indicate it was empty. Harvey grabbed a can of Redd, offering it to Quinton, who took it silently. His attention shifted to the porch again, ignoring the quiet click of the can opening. He hummed a small tune to himself before looking back over at the medic, watching him take a few gulps and wince. Harvey rose a brow before chuckling, “Don’t push yourself too much, drinking alcohol isn’t something you just immediately adjust to.” 

Quinton glanced over at him, a light pink dusting his cheeks, not that Harvey noticed. “Yeah, of course.” His tone was meek while taking another drink, though he shrugged it off as him simply being nervous. It had settled into comfortable silence between them, though Archie and the new guy’s talking was almost silent muffling between them and the porch, which brought little noise to the lodge. 

It didn’t take long for Harvey to bring his attention back to Quinton, watching the medic sway slightly. He chuckled before offering a hand out to him, which Quinton had hesitantly taken. “You’ve probably already drank too much.” Harvey hummed, sitting the medic down on the couch before sitting beside him with a foot or two between them.

“Pssh, no. I can definitely take more than just those two.” He watched the medic shrug it off while making a wave gesture with a hand. Harvey squinted at him in thought before raising a brow. 

“Sure buddy, though I think you’ll have a killer hang over for a newbie drinker.” A low chuckle left him while leaning back. Quinton shifted uncomfortably before dragging his gaze over to Harvey, to which he responded to the stare by simply raising a brow.

“You’re-” The medic paused, eyes trailing over his face, “really pretty.” A low sigh followed after his words, though it was more of a blissful sigh. “Like, really pretty. Is it normal to think a guy’s pretty?”

Harvey was frozen for a moment at the random abundance of compliments before he chuckled, “To me it is, it’s completely normal to think someone is attractive whether you’re attracted to them or not.” He answered after a moment before shrugging.

“But like, you’re really pretty.” Quinton muttered. His body froze for a moment again, Harvey hummed quietly after a moment. Before he could say anything Quinton continued to speak, “Like, really really attractive Harvey.”

Despite all these compliments he didn’t let his mind wander anywhere, “I think you’ve had enough to drink Quinton. It’s probably time for you to head back to the main lodge.” Harvey spoke softly, grabbing the can from the medic’s hand.

Quinton let a whine slip past him while Harvey grabbed the can, “But I’m only gonna be this confident here to tell you how I feel.” A pout dragged at his lips, staring slightly upward at Harvey.

He paused again before answering, “I don’t wanna take advantage of this when you’re drunk Quinton. I’d rather you tell me when you’re sober and comfortable enough to.” His voice came out slowly while he grabbed the non-prosthetic hand Quinton had, slightly lifting him up. To his surprise the medic tripped immediately, almost bringing them both to the ground. Harvey was quick to steady them both, even as Quinton fell silent. With a low hum he looped one of the medic’s arms around his shoulder, leading the swaying medic to the door. 

Harvey glanced back at the others before quietly opening the door. It took a few minutes for him to lead Quinton to the main-lodge, struggling slightly to enter both the lodge and then guide Quinton to his room. After, when he was successful in doing so, he leaned the medic down onto his bed, taking a step back. From what he could tell Quinton was already tired, laying down with his eyes closed and slightly curled into himself. He paused for a moment before grabbing the blanket, tugging it over the dude. 

It was silent in the main lodge, which was normal, but he’d never been up here so close to the night time. Quietly he turned, walking out of Quinton’s room and the main lodge, making his way back to the second lodge. The silence sat eerily with him, an uncomfortable feeling even as he walked back to his private cot, passing the silent conversations that were happening.

Today had been a long day, and as he walked into his room he took a moment to breathe before beginning to untie his shoes. Harvey set them by the door, leaning his Century Arms gun against the wall but keeping his pistol close to his bed. A heavy sigh left him when he laid down, finally relaxing his body while pulling a blanket over himself. His eyes felt heavy, and closing them had become an even bigger relief to him. Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for him to sleep, a miracle in itself for Harvey. His last thought before finally drifting into an unconscious state, was that he just hoped he didn’t have more nightmares.


End file.
